Dead Kennedys Revisited

I’m pretty torn about this whole reconstituted-Dead-Kennedys-playing-the-Fillmore thing that fellow blogger Aidin Vaziri wrote about yesterday. Like most people who saw the ad for the show, I assumed for a second that Jello Biafra might be involved — even though I had covered the lawsuit between Biafra and the other band members, and was fully aware that they hate each other’s guts. It’s likely that many people buying tickets are expecting to see the full band.

hardrockcafe.narod.ru

The real Dead Kennedys, during happier times.

While current Dead Kennedys band members East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride, D.H. Peligro and New Guy Singing Vocals have won the legal right to call themselves the Dead Kennedys, that doesn’t mean they should do it.

Ray, Klaus and D.H. were an almost criminally underrated part of the band, and I would even pay to see them play together. With all the great bands playing, this Fab Mab Class Reunion show at the Fillmore looks like it might be a lot of fun. But whether it’s fair or not, the Dead Kennedys are associated with Biafra, and his voice and lyrics are what set the band apart more than anything else. So how about calling themselves “Dead Kennedys Revisited.” Or “The New Dead Kennedys.” Or even “Dead Kennedys featuring (New Guy Singing Vocals’ name here).” If I remember correctly, that’s what Journey did — at least until every person on the planet realized that Steve Perry wasn’t in the band any more.

For those who don’t know about the history of DK intra-band animosity, don’t expect a Motley Crue or Van Halen or Judas Priest-style reuniting of musicians and original lead singer. I have a side job setting the odds for broken-up bands reuniting and touring before they all die, and Dead Kennedys are locked in at 450-1. (Compare that to Credence Clearwater Revival at 125-1, The Beach Boys at 30-1 and Husker Du at 12-1. Journey is even money.)